Parents Playbooks- Capture & Preserve Memories

Any of you have followed my blog, realize I have been doing research on past boys and past girls basketball teams. To do the research, I have go to our wonderful public library to look at old newspaper articles. It is an amazing experience to sit down and go through an entire season at one sitting. 

Several weeks ago when I was doing research on the 1960 team, it struck me how much I could find in the paper. There were box scores with points, free throws, rebound leaders, and fouls. While they were blurry, there pictures and I got a sense the size of Bob Coe and Bumpy Nixon. There was an article describing players being disciplined and players being injured. For people from that era- tons of memories. 

Coaching 101- Daily Dozen

Years and years ago, I attended a clinic where Sam Alford (Steve Alford’s father) of New Castle, Ind gave a talk on developing a program. One of the concepts he talked about was giving his JH coaches a set of 5 drills to do each day in practice. The idea was that the first 30-45 minutes of each JH practice “belonged” to him as the Varsity coach. 

I thought it seemed like a great concept. The person who we hired to coach any of our lower level programs (JH thru FS), they were often inexperienced in coaching and often limited in their basketball knowledge. 

Coaching 101- Practice Scrimmage Game

 

Scrimmage Game

1- 5 on 5 playing to 11 points. 

2- +3= 3 pointer, +2= 2 pointer, +1= offensive or defensive rebound

3- Defense gets steal or rebound, they break the other way.

4- Offense scores, play stops, it is make it/take it with offense going in half- court 5 vs 5 again.

5- If a team turns it over twice, game over, they lose.

6- First team to 11 points wins. 

Maine West Summer Tourneys

 The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association had been organization for boys basketball only. At the end of the 1984 season, the IBCA took in girls basketball and girls coaches. I had the opportunity to be on the first All-State Board that met at the end of the season. That meeting was the first real chance to network with coaches from the suburbs and southern Illinois. 

At that first meeting, Derril Kipp of Maine West told me that he hosted summer tourney and would like to get some downstate teams involved. We went for the first time then in the summer of 1984. That first trip, we had no school transportation and we had to get someone else to coach the team according to IHSA rules. Cessy Burga’s parents offered their station wagon and a coaching friend, Mike Jaskoski offered to coach. 

Willam Allen- Knox Grad, GHS Teacher- Killed in WW2

 William Allen was a 1939 graduate of Knox College. While at Knox, he became a political activist. He was part of a large group of students who were unhappy with the school’s “chapels.” They felt that the chapels had become a way for the college to indoctrinate students with conservative, pro-business speakers. His activism led him to take a leadership role as the editor of the Knox Student (school newspaper). His outspoken approach caused some to label him as un-American and a Communist.  

After graduation, he taught three years in Fairview. He moved back to teach at Galesburg High School in 1942. He was an English teacher and in charge of all of the drama activities. At this time, before TV, school plays were performed almost monthly. 

Streaks Scrapbook- 1999 Girls 2nd in State- Part I

 

1999 Girls 2nd in State

33-2

(State Rank- #2)

The 1998 Streaks lost in the Elite 8 game, but had no seniors on their roster. The entire starting five returned for the 1999 season. In terms of playing time, the top 9 players on the ‘99 time were:

Jaque Howard (5’4” Jr, Pt Gd) 8.0ppg, 6.2apg

Michelle Flaar (5’7” Jr, Guard) 3.5ppg

Megan Pacheco (5’8” Jr, Forward) 11.8ppg, 5.4rpg

Whitney Snyder (5’10” Jr, Forward) 8.0ppg, 6.2rpg

Sarah Larson (5’11” Sr, Post) 22.6ppg, 8.5rpg

Jenny Zolper (5’9” Sr, Post) 2.4ppg, 3.5rpg

Rachel Bicego (5’6” So Guard) 4.0ppg

Sarah Pacheco (5’10” Soph Guard) 4.7ppg, 2.0rpg

Friday Fotos- 1999- Back Again

What A Run!- In 1999, the Streaks were in the middle of a great run (and it wasn’t done yet).

The Last Word- Coaches always say that your “star” sets the tone, the culture for your team. If your “star” is unselfish and hard working, your team will be unselfish and hard working. In 1999, the Streaks had many stars, but Sarah Larson was “THE STAR.” This interview with Sarah captures her focus- on the team!!

Strategy- 1999 Soft Man to Man Press

If we had the lead with under 10 seconds left, usually we wanted to play what we would call our “Soft MM Press.” We are wanting to just slow down the offense and make them have to take a long shot. In a dead ball situation, our initial alignment in “Soft MM Press” was to not allow any long passes, not to allow a guard to catch and go on the dribble. 

We showed pressure but backed up just 4-5 feet. With the initial show of pressure, it was our hope to force the offense to go back to the ball. We wanted the offense to have to “go back” to catch the ball. So they did not have forward momentum. 

After showing the pressure, the bounce back assured we would keep the ball in front of us. The defender on the inbounder acted as a center fielder to help on a dribble. 

If the other team has one great player that you know they want to get the ball inbounds to, I have seen teams take the inbound defender and have them face guard that good player, while the good player’s defender can stay behind. I am more cautious and preferred the have the inbounder defender in position to cover up mistakes. 

Strategy- 1999 Larson’s Three in Supersectional

We were in a battle with Machesney Park Harlem in the Supersectional at NIU’s Chick Evans FH. Late in the game, we down three with the ball. We ran a play that we called, “Carthage.” It was a play that we had stolen from Carthage, who was a very good small school. 

Old School Coaches- Talking About Parents

“Old School Coaches” are veteran coaches who look at some of the tough questions that all coaches face. In the group we have HOF coaches from football, volleyball, boys basketball, and girls basketball. The group also includes four retired athletic directors. 

In future if you have some questions that you would like addressed- put them them in the comments at the end. 

Greg King- Sterling HS

In his head coaching career at Sterling, his football teams went 78-28, and had 10 straight play-off appearances and 5 conference titles. In addition to his success as a football coach, he was inducted in the Illinois Athletic Director's Association HOF. 

Mark Massey- Clinton HS

Mark was the head volleyball coach at Clinton for 38 years. His teams won 818 games, and twice took second in State. He is in the Iowa Volleyball HOF and Clinton HS HOF.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls/Rock Island HS

Thom coached basketball for 32 years. His teams won 502 games, and he has the distinction of winning the State Title at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. Thom is in the IBCA HOF.

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS, Moline HS

Mike coached football at Alleman, UT, and Moline for over 20 years. By most, he is considered the premier football coach in WB6 history. His teams won 140 games, and twice finished second in State. Mike is in the Alleman HS HOF and the Illinois Football HOF. He was also selected Illinois AD of the Year. 

Tom Wierzba- Farmington HS

Tom coached basketball for 38 years, coaching 26 years at Farmington. At Farmington, his teams won 7 sectionals and made 5 trips to State, including a third place and fourth place finish. For his career, his teams won 611 games. In addition, he coached softball at Farmington for 10 years- going 225-50. His softball teams won the State title twice and took fourth once. He has been inducted into both the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports HOF's.

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

Mike Cooper- Ottawa HS

Mike is the retired Athletic Director at Ottawa HS. He was varsity girls basketball coach for 22 years, as well as sophomore football coach for many years. He was inducted in the the IBCA HOF.

Tim Engebretson- United HS

He was varsity head football coach for many years at United HS. He also has coached basketball at different levels. His 2005 team won the Illinois State Title, and Tim is in the Illinois Football Coaches' HOF as well as the United HOF.

My Question

Obviously parents play a crucial role not only in their son/daughters sports experience but they have the ability to impact an entire sports program. What did you do to help get parents on the same page? What advice would you share with parents?

Coaching 101- Organized Pre-Practice

I always asked our players to do an organized “Prepractice” at the beginning of practice. Doing this served several purposes:

1- It concentrated on three basic skills- weak hand dribbling, finishing with weak and strong hand, and form shooting. My belief was that if our players did this before each practice it would have a cumulative impact of making them better with their weak hand, better finishing around the basket, and improve their shooting form.

Coaching 101- Stick With FS Prelims or Swith to JV Prelims

There are fewer students choosing to play both boys and girls basketball in Illinois and also nationally. Traditionally most schools have offered three levels of competition- freshman, frosh-soph, and varsity. As the number of players has decreased, in order to maintain three levels of play, schools are often having freshman players play multiple levels. A freshman may play two freshman games and two frosh-soph games per week. In the meantime, juniors are caught in a situation where they are on the bench for the varsity and not playing any games. 

Schools are looking at ways to handle this decrease in participation in HS basketball, especially in girls basketball. I did an informal survey of 12 athletic conferences to see what someone of them were doing to accommodate the decrease in numbers. It appears that one of the common threads is for more and more conferences to play JV and Varsity level competition instead of the more traditional FS and Varsity levels. 

In girls basketball, 7 conferences are now allowing schools to play freshmen, sophomores, or juniors in the prelim games- so it is a JV contest. Five of the conferences are still playing a FS game for the prelim game in girls basketball. In boys basketball, because of larger numbers, only 3 of the conferences are playing JV prelim games.

Streaks Scrapbook- 1960 Galesburg’s “New, Unnamed Gym”

In basketball terms, the 1959-1960 team is referred to as the 1960 team. So although the new school opened in the Fall of 1959 school year, I will be referring to the 1960 season. So not to confuse, the 1960 team played in 1959-1960.

In 1959-1960, Galesburg High School moved to West Fremont Street. When it first opened up, it was definitely on the edge of town. You could see more corn than homes at that time. There was no industrial arts wing, there was no learning center, and there was no foreign language wing. All of those things would come later.

There was a new gym. The Register-Mail referred to it as the “new, unnamed gym on West Fremont.” Jimmie Carr and his 1959 teammates were very disappointed that they had not gotten to play in the new gym. Jimmie described first going into the gym on Fremont St, and being struck about how “bright and light the gym was compared to Steele Gym.” 

Friday Fotos- Great Rivals, Great Gyms, Great Quiz

There are some great gyms in Western Illinois- I have a quiz for you about these gyms. Can you pass the test at the end!!

Canton HS

Super 7- Streaks Alums Playing College Hoops

There are 7 Streak’s alums who are playing college basketball this winter. Audree Peck (Clarke- Senior), Lauren Livingston (Dubuque-Senior), Riley Jenkins (Minnesota-Crookston- RS Soph), Juniper Schwartzman (Grinnell-Soph), Capre Ferguson (Sandburg- Soph), Kiarra Kilgore (Missouri S&T-First Yr), and Antonia Kisler (Sandburg-First Yr). 

Sides Fired- WNBA Moving Forward This Off-Season

Christie Sides was fired by the Indiana Fever. As a coach (former coach), it is difficult to come down on the side of firing coaches. That said, there is a huge difference in the big business side of pro sports. 

Early in the past season, I was very concerned that if Indiana didn’t do something about the coaching situation that the WNBA would have to step in and tell the Fever for the good of the WNBA and Caitlin Clark’s market value- get a new coach. The Fever righted the ship and played a good second half, but I think there were still questions about the direction of the team for the future. 

Right now there are 6 openings in the WNBA for coaching positions- 6 have been fired. This is a sign of several things-

CSC With Antonia & Capre- Open Season Tue Nov 5

Carl Sandburg Women’s Basketball Team will open at home on Tuesday, November 5 at 5:30pm vs. Lincolnland. GHS grads, Capre Ferguson (Soph) and Antonia Kisler (Frosh) are playing for the Chargers. Capre and Antonia have always played with high energy. With them playing right here in Galesburg, it will be a great opportunity for Streaks fans to get to see them play!

Coaching 101- Getting Ready For First Game

I was very fortunate to start out teaching in a very good and very organized Social Studies Dept at Galesburg HS in the 1970’s. One of the main subjects I was teaching was U.S. History. We had 7 teachers teaching U.S. History. Every unit, we would combine all the classes for presentations with readings, lectures, and presentations. As a result, we were all expected to test the same day, then move onto the next unit. The test date was set, so you had to organize your individual class to get your lessons in before that date. You had to be organized because the test date was not going to be moved. 

Basketball is the same way. Each coach is assigned the first test date- your first game. It cannot be moved because you are not ready. You have to be organized to figure out what you must get in. You cannot complain that i don’t have time- you have to figure out. And you don’t want two days before the first game or the night before the first game realize that you have not gotten 3-4 things in that you should have gotten in. 

Coaching 101- The Value of Another Set of Eyes

I don’t watch the Pat McAfee Show on a daily basis, but they have some great guests, who often turn the show into a coaching clinic. Today was one of those days when they got into a discussion about the Green Bay Packers having recently fired New York Jet’s coach, Robert Saleh come to help them. The discussion on the show was how pro teams use someone like Coach Saleh, who is there in an exact capacity as an observer, advance scout, analyst, and consultant to the head coach. 

Former Colts coach, Chuck Pagano implied that the pros do this more than you would ever realize. They want “another set of eyes,” and they want a “different set of eyes” looking at their team. 

Streaks Scrapbook- 1960 Boys Elite 8

1960 Boys Elite 8

25-3 

(State Rank #4*)

Jimmie Carr, Otis Cowan, Dave Cox, and Dick Nichols graduated from the 1959 Third in State team. The only returning starter for the Streaks was Lawrence "Bumpy" Nixon. It turned out that there were strong players to go with Bumpy. The Streaks started the season ranked #1 in the State poll. Throughout the season, they never dropped below #3 in the poll. 

Friday Fotos- 1960 A Bumpy Year

New Gym- There was excitement about the opening of the new gym to in the Register-Mail as the “new unnamed gym on Fremont St.” That reaction was probably related to fact that GHS’s gym had always had a name before- “Steele Gym.” While people appear to have been excited about the new gym, they were quickly disappointed in its size at only 3600. In the first year, it regularly sold out and people were turned away. The gym was named for Coach John Thiel in 1993.

Bumpy, Lincoln, and A Snow Storm

In 1959-60, Lawrence “Bumpy” Nixon was a senior, and his brother, Lincoln Nixon was a junior. 

Bumpy had played for Quincy HS as a sophomore in 1957-8. He led Quincy in scoring as a sophomore. In 1958-9, Bumpy and Lincoln moved to Galesburg with their mother. They moved into a neighborhood close to their Uncle Harold Ewing, Sr. Their move from Quincy created quite a storm in Quincy, Galesburg, and with the IHSA. 

Old School Coaches- Thoughts On Moving Freshmen Or Sophomores Up To The Varsity

 

“Old School Coaches” are veteran coaches who look at some of the tough questions that all coaches face. In the group we have HOF coaches from football, volleyball, boys basketball, and girls basketball. The group also includes four retired athletic directors. 

In future if you have some questions that you would like addressed- put them them in the comments at the end. 

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

Mike Cooper- Ottawa HS

Mike is the retired Athletic Director at Ottawa HS. He was varsity girls basketball coach for 22 years, as well as sophomore football coach for many years. He was inducted in the the IBCA HOF.

Tim Engebretson- United HS

He was varsity head football coach for many years at United HS. He also has coached basketball at different levels. His 2005 team won the Illinois State Title, and Tim is in the Illinois Football Coaches' HOF as well as the United HOF.

Greg King- Sterling HS

In his head coaching career at Sterling, his football teams went 78-28, and had 10 straight play-off appearances and 5 conference titles. In addition to his success as a football coach, he was inducted in the Illinois Athletic Director's Association HOF. 

Mark Massey- Clinton HS

Mark was the head volleyball coach at Clinton for 38 years. His teams won 818 games, and twice took second in State. He is in the Iowa Volleyball HOF and Clinton HS HOF.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls/Rock Island HS

Thom coached basketball for 32 years. His teams won 502 games, and he has the distinction of winning the State Title at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. Thom is in the IBCA HOF.

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS, Moline HS

Mike coached football at Alleman, UT, and Moline for over 20 years. By most, he is considered the premier football coach in WB6 history. His teams won 140 games, and twice finished second in State. Mike is in the Alleman HS HOF and the Illinois Football HOF. He was also selected Illinois AD of the Year. 

Tom Wierzba- Farmington HS

Tom coached basketball for 38 years, coaching 26 years at Farmington. At Farmington, his teams won 7 sectionals and made 5 trips to State, including a third place and fourth place finish. For his career, his teams won 611 games. In addition, he coached softball at Farmington for 10 years- going 225-50. His softball teams won the State title twice and took fourth once. He has been inducted into both the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports HOF's.

My Question

It is sometimes a tough decision for the head coach to decide whether to bring freshmen or sophomores up to the varsity level. What were your thoughts about moving freshmen or sophomores up to the varsity?

Women’s Basketball- It’s On Fire

Women’s college basketball and the WNBA have been on fire this past year. If you haven’t been watching, you are missing out. If you haven’t been watching, maybe you are not a basketball fan!!

Coaching 101- Build A Network

A popular coaching phrase is, "Tougher Together." Coaches use it to try to get their team to understand they are not going to succeed alone- you need other people to succeed. The same is true for coaches, you can't succeed alone. To succeed, obviously a coach needs many things- good players, loyal players, supportive administration, and strong and supportive assistant coaches. 

I would argue that one of the most important things for coaches is to develop a network of other coaches. When things are tough, a coach needs to be able to reach out and get support and counseling from other coaches. When the team is playing a school in another part of the state, you need to be able to reach out to other coaches. And when things are just not clicking with your team, it is important to be able to have other coaches you can get some advice or tips from. 

Streaks Scrapbook- 1998- Girls Elite 8

1998 Girls Elite 8

27-6

(State Rank- 14th)

Sometimes in life and in sports, things don't turn out the way that you expected them to turnout. This was true of the 1998 Streaks. The 1997 Streaks had a fabulous season going undefeated in the regular season and finished 4th in the State. 

Four of the five starters from the 1997 season were gone. Molly Watson, Angie Galyean, and Jessica Thompson had all graduated. Melanie Pendragrass was to be a senior but tore her ACL in the summer and did not come back to play. That left only Sarah Larson (Junior) as a returning starter, and Megan Pacheco (Sophomore) as returning regular. In looking at the 1997 season, most everybody assumed this would probably be a rebuilding year. 

Friday Fotos- 1998 Rebuilding Year

REBUILDING YEAR- The 1998 team had no seniors. Of the top 8 players, there were 2 freshmen (Sarah Pacheco, Rachel Bicego), 4 sophomores (Michelle Flaar, Jaque Howard, Whitney Snyder, Megan Pacheco), and 2 juniors (Sarah Larson, Jenny Zolper). Only two of these players had been regulars on the 1997 team- Megan Pacheco and Sarah Larson. There is no doubt that 1998 should have been a rebuilding year. 

Strategy- 1998 Coach Pogue’s Play

 Matt Pogue was an assistant coach for me during the 1992-3 season. He was a great assistant- he had experience, he was invested in the players, and he had great insights. We were a lot like in that after the games, we liked to analyze and reanalyze the games. It was fun. On one occasion, my wife came downstairs at 3am and asked us to hold it down a little. 

Matt was a coaches son, Buddy Pogue had been a legendary coach at Costa JH for years. And Matt had been an assistant in boys basketball for Mel Casper at Avon. Casper had been one of the most successful small school coaches in this area for years- first at Avon and then at Lewistown. 

During the 92-93 season, Matt shared a play they had used at Avon that he thought was very successful. The concept of the play was to have a double high post, take the ball to one side, and then have the weakside post flash across the lane and back screen the other post. It was something that was successful for us in 92-93 but something we did not really use after that until 1997 season. 

Strategy- 1998 Press Adjustments

 

In 1998, we had beaten Dixon in OT 66-60 at Galesburg. While we didn't feel we had played well, in the Sectional we played them in the Championship game. We were #1 seed and they were #2 seed. The first time our press had not been very successful against them. So we looked to see if we could make any adjustments to our normal 1-2-1-1 press. 

Our primary defense was to press 1-2-1-1 then fall back into half-court man to man defense. This shows our alignment. 

#1= Jaque Howard or Sarah Pacheco

#2= Michelle Flaar or Rachel Bicego

#3= Megan Pacheco

#4= Jenny Zolper or Whitney Snyder

#5= Sarah Larson

Mark Harden Jr- New GHS Freshman Coach

Mark Harden Jr. has been an outstanding JH coach and Freshman Boys Coach for the last several years. He is willing to invest hours to help young players to grow and improve as players. Mark has shown the ability to pick out the important details needed in skill development. It is exciting that not only is he the 8th Grade Girls Coach this year, but he will also be the Freshman Girls Coach this winter. It will be exciting to see what he adds to the Girls Basketball Program. 

Massey- How did you get involved in basketball?

Coach Harden- I have had a basketball in my hand since I was 3 years old and have loved the game ever since! I played in my first league when I was in 2nd grade at the YMCA. The basketball court has always been where I felt most comfortable and relaxed. I went to Lombard Middle School and had two great basketball seasons in 7th and 8th grade, where I was able to hone my skills more and become a better leader. I will never forget the Lombard vs.Churchill game! It was an amazing event, a competitive rivalry that brought the town of Galesburg together. 

Coaching 101- HS Coaches Can Learn From College Transfer Portal

Sometimes our biases cloud how we look at things. I don't know if that is the case with with me in what I am writing. I believe college players should be paid, just not with the present system. And I believe they should be able to transfer but not with the total, unlimited freedom of today. Usually when people talk about the transfer portal, the focus on how it is impacting competitive balance that we once were used to seeing.

I watched two football games this past Saturday, and they both got me thinking about the importance of culture and the importance of player development. I am not talking about what college coaches should do, I am thinking that there may be some valuable lessons for us as high school coaches. What I saw reminded me of two important lessons in coaching. 

Coaching 101- Coaching Isn't Just Coaching

I don’t know how many times over the years I have heard a coach complain, ”I wish I could just coach and not have to worry about all the other stuff.” 

I believe these coaches are saying they like working with their players in practice and in games, but they don't like do all the other stuff. On the floor coaching in practice is so rewarding, and games obviously are really exciting. When you are young and decide to go into coaching, this is what you envision coaching to be- practice and games.

Streaks Scrapbook- 1959 Boys 3rd in State

 

Boys  1959-    

3rd in State        

29-2        

(State Rank- #1)

The 1959 Galesburg basketball team is considered by many to be the best Silver Streak basketball team of all-time. Obviously deciding such a thing is open to debate. Clearly, the ‘59 Streaks must be in that debate. 

Anyone who knows history would not be surprised for me to start out talking about how a transfer impacted the team, but they would be surprised to find out that i am talking about two transfers that took place clear back in 1950. Two fourth grade boys moved into Galesburg on the exact same day in 1950. Jimmie Carr was from Texas, and Otis Cowan was from Arkansas. They lived a block from each other, and were in the same fourth grade class. 

They developed a relationship early on with Coach John Thiel. They lived within a couple blocks of GHS and the Steele Gym. The Streaks varsity would hold evening practices on Wednesdays that were open to the public. Cowan and Carr as 8th graders would walk over to watch practice. Coach Thiel would take time to talk to them and set them up to do some stats or run the scoreboard for him. 

Today, Jimmie Carr is famous as an all-time great radio announcer for Streaks basketball. People probably don’t realize how great he was as a player. In 1959, Carr (6’0”) and Cowan (5’10”) were Galesburg’s starting backcourt. Together they brought havoc on opponents with their quickness and pressure defense, and offensively pushed the ball. Together with what they could do offensively and defensively, veterans considered them one of the all-time best backcourts in GHS history. 

IHSA Tourney Proposal- High Seeds Host

 In Illinois in the 1930’s, there was a period of time when the team who took second in the Regional tourney also advanced to the Sectional level. The IHSA has made adjustments throughout the years. 

Up until the 1990’s, the IHSA assigned teams to a particular Regional, and a specific site. The frustration coaches, players, and fans had with this setup was that sometimes the two best teams in that whole area of the State might be in the same Regional. For example in the boys 1976 Regional at Galesburg, they sent Richwoods (#1 in the State) to play Galesburg (#7 in the State.) Coaches pushed for a change in format that would allow a chance to separate the best teams. The idea was to have the Galesburg vs Richwoods matchup take place on a neutral site at the Sectional level. 

1959- Steele Gyms Last Season

The 1959 Streaks were excited because they thought they were going to be the first team to play at the new high school located out on Fremont St. Because there water issues, the opening of the school was delayed. So the '59 Streaks were the last team to play in Steele Gym. 

Realize that Steele Gym was old but a great gym. In 1959, the two best gyms in western Illinois were Wharton FH and Steele Gym. And the last season at Steele was great- the '59 Streaks did not lose a single game. 

The following is a description with pictures of Steele Gym:

Steele Gym- A Community Treasure

This Sunday- Streaks Scrapbook- 1959 Boys 3rd in State

1959- Jimmie Carr- All-Time Great Streak

When people think about Galesburg basketball, nobody is more associated with the Streaks than Jimmie Carr. He has covered the Streaks on the radio for decades and still supports both the girls and the boys basketball teams. 

It all started for Jimmie as a player. Jimmie was one of the best players on one of the best teams in GHS history. 

The following is an interview with Jimmie Carr:

Jimmie Carr- I Was So Excited, I Could Hardly Sleep

This Sunday- Streaks Scrapbook- 1959 Boys 3rd in State

1959 Carr, Cowan, Nixon, Cox, Cannon, Nichols

The 1959 Silver Streak basketball team may have been the best basketball team in Galesburg history. They lost only one regular season game, and they were ranked #1 in the State most of the season. They finished the regular season as the #1 ranked team in Illinois. 

Old School Coaches- What Does Old School Mean

I am hoping to do this segment- "Old School Coaches" on a regular basis. I have put together a crew of retired coaches, who were highly successful in their high school coaching career. My hope is to post one question to them every two weeks. 

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

Mike Cooper- Ottawa HS

Mike is the retired Athletic Director at Ottawa HS. He was varsity girls basketball coach for 22 years, as well as sophomore football coach for many years. He was inducted in the the IBCA HOF.

Tim Engebretson- United HS

He was varsity head football coach for many years at United HS. He also has coached basketball at different levels. His 2005 team won the Illinois State Title, and Tim is in the Illinois Football Coaches' HOF as well as the United HOF.

Greg King- Sterling HS

In his head coaching career at Sterling, his football teams went 78-28, and had 10 straight play-off appearances and 5 conference titles. In addition to his success as a football coach, he was inducted in the Illinois Athletic Director's Association HOF. 

Mark Massey- Clinton HS

Mark was the head volleyball coach at Clinton for 38 years. His teams won 818 games, and twice took second in State. He is in the Iowa Volleyball HOF and Clinton HS HOF.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls/Rock Island HS

Thom coached basketball for 32 years. His teams won 502 games, and he has the distinction of winning the State Title at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. Thom is in the IBCA HOF.

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS, Moline HS

Mike coached football at Alleman, UT, and Moline for over 20 years. By most, he is considered the premier football coach in WB6 history. His teams won 140 games, and twice finished second in State. Mike is in the Alleman HS HOF and the Illinois Football HOF. He was also selected Illinois AD of the Year. 

Tom Wierzba- Farmington HS

Tom coached basketball for 38 years, coaching 26 years at Farmington. At Farmington, his teams won 7 sectionals and made 5 trips to State, including a third place and fourth place finish. For his career, his teams won 611 games. In addition, he coached softball at Farmington for 10 years- going 225-50. His softball teams won the State title twice and took fourth once. He has been inducted into both the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports HOF's.

My Question

I labelled this bi-weekly post as "Old School Coaches." What do you think "old school" means? Would you have considered yourself to be old school?